James M. Dorsey
ARTICLES BY: James M. Dorsey
Saudi Religious Diplomacy Targets Jerusalem
A United Arab Emirates-backed Saudi effort to wrest control of Islam’s holy places in Jerusalem from Jordan signals a sharper, more overt edge to Saudi...
The Moroccan Protests: A New Model After the Arab Spring?
Mounting anger and discontent is simmering across the Arab world, much as it did in the run-up to the 2011 Arab Spring popular revolts that...
The 2018 World Cup Could Become the Middle East’s Latest Battlefield
The simultaneous presence in Russia of the Saudi and Iranian teams for the 2018 World Cup is likely to shine a spotlight on the covert...
Protests in Jordan: Revisiting the Arab Spring
The recent protests that forced Jordan’s prime minister to resign and laid bare the country’s systemic economic and political crisis have shed new light on the root...
China Is Treading a Fine Line in Iran
Now that Donald Trump has exited the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal with Iran, there is more at stake for the other signatories than either their...
Saudi-Moroccan Soccer Spat Symbolizes the New Arab Politics
The spat over Saudi Arabia’s refusal to support a Moroccan bid to host the 2026 World Cup tells the tale of the rise of individual nationalism at...
Saudi Moderation? Prince Mohammed Is on Shaky Ground
No doubt, Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s recent reforms in Saudi Arabia have benefited women and created social opportunity with the introduction of modern forms of...
The Middle East’s Nuclear Technology Clock Is Ticking
Concerns about a Middle Eastern nuclear arms race are being fueled by uncertainty over the future of Iran’s 2015 nuclear agreement; a seeming US willingness...
Arab Countries Leverage Lucrative Nuclear Contracts for Power
A clause that commits South Korean troops to come to the UAE’s defense in the event of a crisis offers insight into the security concerns...
China Steps Into the Middle East Maelstrom
Beijing’s abandonment of non-interference in foreign conflicts has been vividly illustrated by its (largely ineffective) efforts to mediate conflicts in South Sudan, Syria and Afghanistan -- as...
Iranian Protests Reveal Leadership Fault Lines in the Muslim World
The responses by major Sunni Muslim countries in the Middle East and North Africa to the recent anti-government protests in Iran demonstrated that none of...
US-Saudi Nuclear Talks: A Middle East Barometer?
President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital was perhaps most challenging for the Saudis, who, as custodians of Islam’s two holiest cities,...
Iranian Protests Raise Tricky Questions for US and Saudi Policymakers
If Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s checkered foreign policy track record is anything to go by, Iran could tempt him to embark on yet...
Betting on the Wrong Horse? US — and Iranian Hardliners — Spin Anti-Government Protests
For Iranian hardliners, the joker in the pack is what US President Donald Trump decides to do with the 2015 international agreement that put curbs...
Xi's Visit to UAE Highlights China's Rising Interest in Middle East
Fragile Ceasefire Holds After Hamas Kills IDF Soldier, Israel Launches Major Retaliatory Strikes